


Something I Need

by kotaka_kun



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Nightmares, Sort of a Songfic, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:29:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22064062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotaka_kun/pseuds/kotaka_kun
Summary: If Foggy were to later ask him when he knew, when he’d started planning it all, he would tell him that it was this particular morning. Foggy might be confused, might ask why, and in all honesty, Matt wasn’t sure if he’d have an answer he’d be able to articulate properly, aside from... he just knew.
Relationships: Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 68
Collections: DDE’s 2020 New Year’s Day Exchange





	Something I Need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GealachGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GealachGirl/gifts).



> tbh it's not yet 2020 in my timezone yet, but here's my piece written for DDE's New Year's Day Exchange!!  
> the prompt I decided to use was the song 'Something I Need' by OneRepublic

Matt found himself pulled abruptly into consciousness, at first only aware of his own thundering heartbeat and the tension in every fiber of his being that left him trembling uncontrollably. Echoes of anguished cries ringing in his ears, he did his best to focus on what he could actually hear around him now, and it took him a moment to get his bearings enough to sift through the onslaught of sensory data.

Off in the distance, somewhere across town, there were sirens. They would be easy enough to follow if he wanted to. Slip out of bed, suit up, find something to distract himself. 

Down the street, a baker was starting up her oven, ready for another day’s work. The walnut star buns she made were to die for, and always sold out by lunch. Matt could probably swing by before heading to the office this morning. 

On the floor beneath him, the neighbor rolled over in bed, their dog huffing as it was forced to move a ways back so it could press up against its owner before dozing off again. 

And beside him, he could hear the deep sleep that Foggy was in; the soft breathing punctuated by the occasional snore, the slow, calm heartbeat. At least he hadn’t woken him this time. 

He checked the time on his phone, and hearing that it was only just after two in the morning, he sighed to himself. 

His own heart still hammering away, he carefully moved his hand and pressed it gently against Foggy’s chest to feel the thrum of his pulse on his fingertips.    
Hearing it,  _ feeling  _ it -- the proof that Foggy was still here, still breathing and alive -- calmed him some, and not for the first time, Matt was glad that Foggy had moved in with him. Foggy would sometimes joke that Matt just liked the perk of a live-in medic, but after everything they’d been through, Matt wouldn’t be surprised if Foggy knew of his nightmares, just as he knew of Foggy’s. Losing your best friend was traumatic, no matter how much either of them tried to hide it.

This wasn’t the first night that Matt had had nightmares of this sort, after all. And though tonight’s had been one of the more vivid and long ones, he’d had worse in his time away from Foggy. At least here, he could be reassured by Foggy’s warm, if sleeping, presence. 

Focusing on the soothing in and out of Foggy’s breaths, Matt made a conscious effort to match the rhythm, and eventually, it eased what was left of the tension from his frame. 

It was something to marvel at, Matt thought, how Foggy’s presence could put him at ease. Hell, it was a miracle that he had anyone in the way that he had Foggy, really. Matt had known that he wouldn’t get to live out a life that resembled anything near the word normal -- he’d known it from somewhere between waking up in the hospital where everything was just  _ so loud _ , and Stick leaving and never coming back. 

There was just so much he had to hide, even from his own father, that it was hard to think that he’d ever be able to be truly honest with another person. The uniqueness and the extent of his abilities, Matt felt, set him far apart from anyone he could possibly hope to be true to. And while it might be a lie to say that he’d  _ never  _ thought about marriage, the instances when it did occur to him were few and far between. It wasn’t that he couldn’t imagine himself devoted to a person -- he had fallen hard for Elektra, after all, and she’d known more or less what he was. But in retrospect, even she didn’t understand him. Not really. She never liked how hesitant he was, how meek he acted compared to her outlandish antics, and she never seemed to comprehend why he’d choose to live as a mere civilian when there was so much more he could do. 

But things were different now. 

Foggy knew everything about him. And Foggy had stayed anyway. Even when Matt had pushed him away, when Matt had made it clear that he didn’t deserve someone as good as Foggy... Foggy had stayed. If there was anyone in the world that he could see himself spending the rest of his life with, it was Foggy. 

Movement from Foggy’s side of the bed drew him out of his reverie, and Matt smiled to himself as he listened to the sounds of Foggy’s body begin to wake, like lights coming on one at a time. It was one of his favorite sounds, right up there with the sound of Foggy’s smile turning into a laugh, and the sound of Foggy stretching when he lounged across the couch. 

This time though, as Matt listened to Foggy’s eyes flutter open as he took a deep breath into yawn, he smiled to himself. 

“Morning, Fog.” he greeted, leaning in. 

“Good morning,” came the sleepy reply, and they met in the middle for a kiss. 

If Foggy were to later ask him when he knew, when he’d started planning it all, he would tell him that it was this particular morning. Foggy might be confused, might ask why, and in all honesty, Matt wasn’t sure if he’d have an answer he’d be able to articulate properly, aside from... he just  _ knew _ . 

* * *

While Matt might not be big on most aspects of being traditional, if he was going to do this, he intended to do at least some parts of it right. And that started with talking with Foggy’s parents. The last time he’d been this nervous around the Nelsons had probably been the very first time he’d met them, Foggy having taken him home for the holidays in their sophomore year. Maybe there was some poetic justice to being worked up just before Christmas again -- he was, after all, making the annual trip to the Nelson household, much as he did every year now. Only this time, he had much grander plans on his mind. 

Of course, he needn’t have worried. When he sat down to talk to Anna and Edward, privately of course, while Foggy was preoccupied with other things, they were only too happy to give him their blessing. 

“You know you don’t have to ask us for permission.” Ed had said gently. 

“It’s not like that, I just... wouldn’t want to go through with this if you don’t think I’m good for him.” Matt had replied that just about broke Anna Nelson’s heart. 

“Matthew, our boy’s had his heart set on you since your uni days,” she said, “You were all he ever talked about, always going on and on about smart his roommate was, how funny, how clever, how cute he was.” She beamed at the way Matt’s ears were turning pink. “We were so happy when he finally brought you home and we got to welcome you into our family. You’re one of the best things that’s happened to Franklin and to us, Matthew.”

“You’ve already been part of the family for years,” Ed said with a laugh, patting Matt on the back, “Just finally making it official.”

Matt ducked his head, and the couple was kind enough to pointedly ignore the wet sniffles and the hasty rubbing of his eyes. 

“Thank you.” 

* * *

It was Karen he consulted next, for help picking out a fitting ring. Matt just wanted her input, and had ended up getting her blessing as well. She helped him pick out a gold band, plain and simple and just what he was looking for. He didn’t think that Foggy would care for embedded stones or any other bedazzling of any kind, and Matt himself didn’t think he liked the feel of gold being interrupted by gems, and would probably like it even less if he were to slot his fingers between Foggy’s and feel the sharp edges against his skin. The smoothness of the gold, he’d thought when he felt it for the first time, was comforting and just felt natural. And, if Foggy didn’t like his choice after all, they could come back together to pick something more suited to his tastes. 

Velvet box in his pocket as he left the store, Karen still smiling next to him, he took a deep breath. Now, all there was left to do was wait for the right moment. 

And he didn’t have to wait long. 

New Year’s Eve rolled around, he found himself alone with Foggy in their office. They’d sent Karen home in the afternoon, and then the two of them wrapped up what was left of their latest case paperwork. Foggy was talking about how they should stay up for the New Year, cook some dinner and watch a movie or two, maybe, and all the while, Matt fidgeted with the box under his desk. 

This felt right, doing it in their new office. It symbolized a great many things to them, most of which had to do with their relationship and their respective growth, both as individuals, and as a couple.    
So, when Foggy turned away to finish putting the last of the papers away, Matt stood and closed the space between them, getting down on one knee and presenting the box. 

He knew the exact moment that Foggy turned back around because he could hear the sudden acceleration of his heartbeat, the tensing of his muscles as he froze in place, the sharp intake of air he took, and Matt couldn’t quite keep a straight face -- how could he when Foggy was reacting so overwhelmingly positively to this?

“Matt,” Foggy’s voice, while as soft and affectionate as Matt had hoped, also had an unexpected waver in it, and then the teary tang of salt hit the air, and Matt began to panic. He hadn’t expected Foggy to start crying from this early on. 

“I had a dream the other night,” Matt began, beginning to choke up as well, “And, y’know, we only get one life, and I don’t want to take it for granted anymore, I don’t want to take  _ you _ for granted. 

For a long time, I had decided that marriage wasn’t for me,” he went on, “Even if I wanted it, I didn’t think that I could ever- would ever find someone I could trust so completely. With everything.

But you, Foggy,  _ you _ have been the one constant in my life that’s never... that’s never walked away. Even when I did everything I could to get you to leave.” Matt swallowed around the lump in his throat, and it took him a moment before he could continue on. “I know it hasn’t been easy. I haven’t been easy. And yet somehow, you’re still here.” He offered Foggy a shaky smile, and he received one in return. 

“Well, yeah,” Foggy murmured, “I love you.” 

He said it like he was saying that the sky was blue, like it was a fact that he knew to be true without a doubt, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and it made Matt’s breath hitch. 

Couldn’t Foggy see just how much of a gift his love in itself was to Matt? 

“I love you too, Fog. So much.”

“And I know it won’t get any easier on you. I’ll keep doing the things that I do, I’ll still worry you, and I’m sorry.” he sighed. 

“But I think I’ve finally realized how fleeting life is, and I know I’d regret it if I didn’t spend the rest of mine with you. So Foggy,” Matt said, taking a deep breath, “Will you marry me?” 

“Yeah, Matty,” Foggy breathed, and Matt could hear the smile in his voice, “Yeah, I’ll marry you.” 

Matt put out a hand for Foggy’s and his heart sang as he carefully slid the ring onto Foggy’s finger. It took him a moment to realize that his own fingers were shaking as they felt the metal band now tying him to Foggy, and he had to laugh. Foggy was pulling him up though, and peppering his face with kisses, and it was all Matt could do to try and get in his own peck or two. 

“I love you.” Foggy said, and Matt could feel the smile in Foggy’s kisses. It was the same smile Matt himself wore. 

“I love you too.”

He’d never be able to say it enough. 


End file.
